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an award-winning music app for iPhone and iPad which lets you use
your other music apps together. Chain effects on your favourite
synth, run the output of apps or Audio Units into an app like
GarageBand or Loopy, or select a different audio interface output
for each app. Route MIDI between apps — drive a
synth from a MIDI sequencer, or add an arpeggiator to your MIDI
keyboard — or sync with your external MIDI gear.
And control your entire setup from a MIDI controller.

Demo of Fugue Machine MIDI Note to Program Change "Transposing" using mfxConvert

A quick demo of using MIDI Notes converted to Program Change messages to simulate remote control of transposition in Fugue Machine.

From this thread there were a few requests for how to have remote control of Fugue Machine (FM) transposition. Unfortunately, FM only responds to Program Changes (PC) to select patterns. However, it’s possible to fake transposing by setting up a bunch of patterns with different transpositions in advance and then triggering those by PC.

The trick here is using MIDI notes that are converted to Program Change messages so you're not limited to just devices and apps that can send Program Changes. Since it is just notes, this means you can use anything that sends notes to control it; including sequencers, arpeggiators, even Fugue Machine itself!

An extremely simple idea, but I had never gotten around to trying it; hence this demo. It works surprisingly well and provides another method of control over this very playable sequencer.

MIDI notes from the QuNexus are converted to Program Change messages by mfxConvert (thank you @audeonic and @discchord!)
Sound source are iSEM, Zeeon, Lorentz and Mersenne being controlled by Rozeta LFO and processed by Dubstation, RE-1 and Stereo Designer.
Apps hosted in Audiobus and AUM.

Comments

Your setup made me think of the dust-gathering app Modstep, which can send Program Change per clip. Modstep and Fugue would be a good combo for this kind of improvisation? Perhaps even on a secondary, even more dust-gathering old iPad, using bluetooth midi to send MS/Fugue midi to audio apps on the newer device.

The Modstep clips could also have some CC automation in them for variation.

Your setup made me think of the dust-gathering app Modstep, which can send Program Change per clip. Modstep and Fugue would be a good combo for this kind of improvisation? Perhaps even on a secondary, even more dust-gathering old iPad, using bluetooth midi to send MS/Fugue midi to audio apps on the newer device.

The Modstep clips could also have some CC automation in them for variation.

Yes! I love using multiple sequencers together as the different interfaces lead to different approaches, which leads to different results. Especially when you integrate them and have one influence the other.

Modstep's ability to send PC messages on clip change could provide a way to sequence Fugue Machine remotely, however, it's not really ideal. modstep sends the PC right at the start of the new clip measure, however, Fugue Machine uses the PC to change its pattern in a quantized way, so, to be in time, the message needs to happen slightly before the start of the next measure (by whatever FM's Global Quantization setting is at). Otherwise, FM will always be playing behind modstep by whatever its quantization value is (1/16, 1/8, 1/4). This can be interesting, but probably not what you're looking for!

However....

I think I failed a bit in this demo.

The notion of creating pre-transposed versions of your pattern that you can trigger remotely seems to be clear.

However, based on comments, the second point of the demo doesn't seem to read:
I'm not using Program Change messages directly. I'm using plain old MIDI notes and then using a converter app to change those notes to PCs.

Since it is just notes, it means you can use anything that sends notes to control it, you're not limited just to devices and apps that can send PCs (or how those apps send PCs). This means you can use any keyboard, sequencer, arpeggiator, even Fugue Machine itself!

If you're careful in setting up the pre-transposed patterns and matching PCs to notes you can create the illusion that FM is following the harmonic progression of your playing / other apps.

@reasOne said:
Man this makes me wanna mess with FM! It's been a while! That zeeon patch is great sounding btw!! Great video man

To be clear, the Zeeon patch is the "synth-harpsichord-like-sound" triggered by the orange and yellow playheads.

The rubbery synth bass triggered from the red playhead is iSEM. I'm sure you could get the same sound from Zeeon, but I generally find iSEM quicker to get classic synth timbres. I go to Zeeon when I want something a bit more esoteric.

The blue playhead is a layer of Mersenne for the strike and Lorentz for the sine-like sustain.

Also, the tip @rs2000 posted about remote control using iOS's accessibility settings is another exceptionally cool way to eke out some more "hands-off" control. Unfortunately I don't think you can sequence those MIDI triggers internally (but you could use an external sequencer) and you will have to have FM as the frontmost app, obviously.

Still, there are are a lot of ways to expand the functionality of apps that might seem to be limited....

@reasOne said:
Man this makes me wanna mess with FM! It's been a while! That zeeon patch is great sounding btw!! Great video man

To be clear, the Zeeon patch is the "synth-harpsichord-like-sound" triggered by the orange and yellow playheads.

The rubbery synth bass triggered from the red playhead is iSEM. I'm sure you could get the same sound from Zeeon, but I generally find iSEM quicker to get classic synth timbres. I go to Zeeon when I want something a bit more esoteric.

The blue playhead is a layer of Mersenne for the strike and Lorentz for the sine-like sustain.

Great to know!!!!
Ya I love both those synths, in horrible at programming them from init but work the presets and use rozetta to tweak the ccs !
Just fired up FM! Gonna see what I can do

Does this only work in the iaa version of fm ?
I can't figure out how to set multiple bars up on the auv3, if I extend to 2 bars and add notes then go back to one bar, the second bar gets deleted...
So how do I set up multiple patterns in the au

I can't figure out how to set multiple bars up on the auv3, if I extend to 2 bars and add notes then go back to one bar, the second bar gets deleted...

Changing the loop length from the menu will wipe out notes in areas outside the loop length. You have to set the maximum length from the menu and then dynamically change the length by moving the loop brace at the top of the window.

So how do I set up multiple patterns in the au

Well, you can set them up and save them as presets, but currently you can only select them manually.

I can't figure out how to set multiple bars up on the auv3, if I extend to 2 bars and add notes then go back to one bar, the second bar gets deleted...

Changing the loop length from the menu will wipe out notes in areas outside the loop length. You have to set the maximum length from the menu and then dynamically change the length by moving the loop brace at the top of the window.

So how do I set up multiple patterns in the au

Well, you can set them up and save them as presets, but currently you can only select them manually.

Thank you!!
This makes sense then!
Will fire to the non au and give it a go!

@Metalman said:
Interesting would this work with notes sent internal from an app like KB-1 Keyboard? or is it just for external controlers?
Cheers

It works with MIDI from any source.

As noted above, only the standalone version seems to respond to the PC messages. But you could do something like set up and AU instance that sends notes that get converted to PC messages and have those trigger the standalone version....

Or have something like Rozeta Cells semi-randomly trigger patterns....

@Metalman said:
Interesting would this work with notes sent internal from an app like KB-1 Keyboard? or is it just for external controlers?
Cheers

It works with MIDI from any source.

As noted above, only the standalone version seems to respond to the PC messages. But you could do something like set up and AU instance that sends notes that get converted to PC messages and have those trigger the standalone version....

Or have something like Rozeta Cells semi-randomly trigger patterns....

Or....

Thanks for quick reply
I am trying to use this convertor to trigger Enso however, I am baffled.
I amusing KB-1 Keyboard inside AUM but when linked to a Midi monitor the ou going note pressed on KB=1 seems to chenge chanel with each press of a note. Is this normal?
In AUM I can set ENso to receive a CC change but it sticks in waiting mode. I have KB 1 set to send to Mfxconvert and Mfx set to convert that note to a CC but I must be missing something.
Any help would be great, maybe I need a diagram or something.
Can rig KB 1 to play notes but and use XY pad etc.
Thanks in advance

Though I don't understand why @Alexandernaut would not implement such a hugely requested feature into FM, despite the many requests? Is listening to incoming MIDI traffic other than PC messages though much of a disruption?